statement748

Australia welcomes the oral update on the human rights situation in Sudan.

Australia condemns the ongoing grave human rights violations that continue be perpetrated, and calls on the Government of Sudan to take immediate action to address this.

Indiscriminate attacks against civilians, widespread displacement, attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian facilities, and restrictions on humanitarian access, particularly in conflict areas of Darfur, South Korodofan and Blue Nile, must cease.

Australia expresses grave concern about the arbitrary detention and widespread torture of civilians, including political opponents, civil society activists and journalists. We condemn the persecution of religious minorities, and call on the Government of Sudan to protect freedom of religion and the freedom of everyone, including minorities, of association and manifest their religion or belief through worship.

We call on the Government of Sudan to take immediate action on the grave and wide-spread sexual and gender-based violence, including abduction and mass rape. These incidents of violence are some of the worst of their kind. The protection and empowerment of women is fundamental to improving the human rights situation in Sudan, and building a stable, peaceful and prosperous society, and all perpetrators of these atrocities should be held to account.

We ask OHCHR how the international community can work with Sudan to ensure the protection of women and girls from sexual violence in conflict.